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X is the twenty-fourth letter of the Latin alphabet. It is also the form of St Andrew's Cross .
/ks/ was in Ancient Greece written as Chi 'Χ' (Western Greek) or Xi 'Ξ' (Eastern Greek). In the end, Chi was standardized as /k_h/ (/x/ in Modern Greek) as well as Xi for /ks/. But the Etruscans took over X from older Western Greek, therefore, it stood for /ks/ in Etruscan and /ks/ and /gs/ [gz] in Latin. Only in Kurdish, Azeri, Uzbek and Tatar as well as the IPA and SAMPA (the latter is used here) is X pronounced [x] (as in German Bach). Some scholars claim that Latin X is not identical with Greek Χ.
It is also controversial whether Psi, Chi (Khi) and Xi are Greek inventions or whether they are ultimately of Semitic origin.
X-ray represents the letter X in the NATO phonetic alphabet.
1 Meanings for X
- In a general sense, X represents an unknown or secret, as in project X.
- Members of the Nation of Islam change their surnames to "X" to symbolize that their African names were lost in slavery, an example is Malcolm X.
- In aeronautics, X is the designation given to an experimental aircraft of the US government, for instance, the X-1 rocketplane that first broke the sound barrier. It is also a prefix to experimental types of US military aircraft, for instance, the XB-70.
- In anime, X is the title of a series based on the manga X/1999 (see X (anime)).
- In art X alludes to the infinite joy of creationReligious creation beliefs Several religions have creation beliefs, some of which account for the existence and present form of the Universe by the act of creation by a supreme being or creator god. Most of these accounts depict one or several gods fashio.
- In astronomyAstronomy which etymologically means " law of the stars," (from Greek: + nomos) is a science involving the observation and explanation of events occurring outside Earth and its atmosphere. It studies the origins, evolution, physical and chemical propertie, Planet XSol System planets Planet X (or Transpluto) is a hypothetical planet beyond Pluto. Its existence was argued for on the basis of apparent discrepancies in the orbit of Neptune. A common name for this hypothetical planet is Persephone. Reasons for Planet X' is a hypothetical planetHypothetical planets are planets that have been suggested as possibly existing (or have been believed to exist), but have never been proven to actually exist. This includes ones that have later been proven not to exist. Examples of such hypothetical plane in the Solar System beyond the orbit of PlutoPluto is the ninth planet from the Sun in our solar system. Because Pluto is also the smallest planet in our solar system and has a highly eccentric orbit (which takes it inside the orbit of Neptune) there has been some debate regarding whether Pluto shou.
- In beverages, X is a symbol for an alcoholic proof of 50; multiple Xes indicate multiples of 50.
- In cabalistic philosophy X references both birth and death.
- In clothing X is used as an abbreviation for extra, such as XXL for extra-extra-large.
- In computing, X is the name of a free graphical windowing system developed at MIT and standard on Unix and Linux; see X Window System.
- In computing, X is the unit for the transfer speed of CDs. It is equivalent to 153,600 bytes/second.
- In computing, X is the unit for the transfer speed of DVDs. It is equivalent to 1,385,000 bytes/second (1 XDVD ≈ 9.02 XCD).
- In education, X is a nickname for the École Polytechnique.
- In electrical engineering, X is the symbol for reactance.
- In English,
- X is an abbreviation for Christ, as in Xmas ( Christmas) and Xtian ( Christian).
- X is an symbol for a kiss, as in love notes.
- X is an abbreviation for cross in words like Xing (crossing), or to sign with a cross (often for illiteracy).
- X also serves as other abbreviations, such as Xtal ( Crystal), reXn (reaction) and Xperimental (experimental).
- In English slang, x is often used as an abbreviation of ecstasy (MDMA), a synthetic drug.
- In film
- X is a rating given to films suitable for an adult-only audience; see X-rated. NC-17 has replaced the X rating in the US. The UK replaced the X rating with the 18 certificate. Australia retains the X rating.
- X is the name of a 1928 German film; see X (film)
- The X-Files was a popular 1990s American science fiction television series.
- In financial securities, X is the stock symbol for United States Steel Corporation.
- In games, X is represention for a cross in games like tic tac toe ( naughts and crosses)
- In genetics X denotes the X chromosome.
- In mathematics,
- x commonly represents an unknown variable. Even though any letter can be used, x is the most common by far. This usage can be traced back to the Arabic word ?ay 'thing' which was spelled with an initial x in Old Spanish or (according to other sources) an abbreviation of Latin causa which was the translation of Arabic š.
- x is the usual symbol for the variable represented on the horizontal axis ( ordinate) in analytic geometry.
- In military science, X is the US Navy hull classification symbol for Submersible Craft.
- In physics, the X-ray is a form of electromagnetic radiation.
- In popular music,
- In photography X denotes exact time in flash synchronization.
- In pornography XXX relates, unsurprisingly, to sex.
- In U.S. politics, X is the pseudonym of the person who blew the whistle on the Watergate crisis.
- In U.S. public policy, X is the author ( George F. Kennan) of the X article published in Foreign Affairs.
- In Roman numerals, X denotes ten.
- In semiotics, an X over something denotes elimination, prohibition or erasure.
- In sociology X denotes Generation X.
- In superhero comic books, an X usually denotes a connection to the popular X-Men franchise, especially when used as a prefix.
- In treasure- hunting X is used to designate the location of treasure, i.e. X marks the spot.
- In video games, X is the name of the main character in the Mega Man spinoff, Mega Man X.
- X is a rollercoaster at Six Flags Magic Mountain.
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